Camry Kaizen

The ninth generation of the Camry gently performs its kaizen or natural evolution without the need to scoreboard watch the rest of the playing field. It is an all-new gen but forged by the same guiding principal

- Dipayan Dutta

In the world of sedans, the Toyota Camry is royalty. It is the subtle art of Japanese luxury, adequate but not opulent. And we are no stranger to the badge either, considering that the Camry’s tryst with the subcontinent is over two decades old with the sixth generation making its way into the country as far back as 2002.

It’s also the fact that Camry buyers keep coming back, that inspired Toyota Kirloskar Motor to start making them in India in 2013. A generation and few nips and tucks later here we are. And someone at Toyota probably realised that if Camry customers kept coming back, over time, well they would eventually die, and no new customers would make their way to the fold.

Okay, maybe they wouldn’t die. Maybe they’d stop needing to own the newest generation, and then? They’d never outlast the Camry that they have anyway. So they would, in fact, die. This leaves the ninth generation of the Camry with the simple yet critical task of bringing new customers to the brand. But this time around in a world full of chrome strips, hyperscreens and bling.

But then, I think that’s what this generation of the Camry personifies, the gentle evolution of Japanese luxury to meet with the times. The philosophy remains intact, but it is no longer dated.

We’ll start with the way it looks. With the disclaimer that this sportier red variant that you see on this page is the “Sprint” as opposed to the standard “Elegance”. Extra bits include the lip spoiler on the front bumper, the diffuser on the rear bumper, the blacked-out roof and the ducktail-esque spoiler on the boot lid.

I quite like it. It’s edgy and “sporty” but I do see a lot of those return customers groaning their complaints, so it is fairly clear why for the first time we have two “variants” of the Camry in India.